Erie County's flu season slowing down

Only 22 cases were reported last week to the Erie County Department of Health, compared to 50 cases the week ending March 23 and 59 cases the week ending March 16.

But one local health official said the season, which is in its 19th week, could drag on a while longer.

"We're seeing fewer cases, but I don't expect the season will end for another month or two," said Charlotte Berringer, R.N., director of community health for the county Health Department. "I think we'll still see a trickle of cases each week like we did at the end of last year."

That could make the 2012-13 flu season Erie County's longest since flu became a reportable disease in 2003. The 2010-11 season lasted 26 weeks but two of those weeks had no reportable flu cases.

It's also been an intense flu season, with 1,098 cases reported -- the most except for the 2009 H1N1 outbreak.

"It's been a very active flu season," said Gary Peterson, D.O., a family physician with West Lake Family Practice, 3435 West Lake Road. "We have only seen it starting to slow down the last two to three weeks."

Many of Peterson's patients have been children and those older than 55, people who are most prone to complications from the flu.

Three people were hospitalized with flu last week, according to the county Health Department.

"It's still a dangerous illness, especially for those compromised immune systems," Berringer said, referring to the elderly, people on chemotherapy and those with chronic diseases like asthma or heart failure.

Peterson is seeing a decline in patients with stomach viruses, but said many people are seeing him who have a persistent cold with a cough.